


Bump in the Night

by KeiSense



Category: the GazettE (Band)
Genre: Haunted Houses, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:21:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27303325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeiSense/pseuds/KeiSense
Summary: The Gazette are filming their new video in a spooky house in the middle of nowhere. You can guess what happens.People really need to listen to Aoi.
Relationships: Kai/Uruha (the GazettE), Past Aoi/Uruha, Reita/Ruki (the GazettE)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	Bump in the Night

“I don’t want to be here.” Aoi had barely stepped foot in the house and he was already nervous.

“It is pretty creepy,” Reita replied. “Don’t worry, Aoi-kun. I’ll protect you.” He threw an arm around the guitarist’s shoulders, but Aoi quickly shrugged it off.

“I’m serious. There’s something very bad here.”

“Come on,” Kai said. “You’ve felt like that about shooting locations before. Nothing bad has ever happened, right?” Aoi only scowled. “Look at all these people who are here,” Kai continued, indicating the various staff members and film crew bustling around them. “There will always be someone with you. Doesn’t it make you feel better that you won’t be left alone?”

“I guess,” Aoi mumbled. “Let’s just get this over with.”

The rest of the band readily agreed that finishing quickly would be best. The house was very unsettling. Ruki had chosen it as the filming location for their latest video based only on pictures. The pictures he had seen showed the house on a sunny day, and it had already looked fairly spooky. It was an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere. All of the western style furniture owned by the previous inhabitants was still there, and there were dust and cobwebs everywhere. The day they’d chosen to shoot the video was overcast, dark clouds showing unmistakably that a storm was on the way. The scary atmosphere in and around the house was only amplified by the weather.

The staff seemed to be affected by the surroundings as well. They rushed through setting up for filming and everything was ready before the band knew it. Each of the members would be filming his individual shots in a different room – Ruki lip synced surrounded by books in a library, the plants on the patio where Reita played looked more gray than green, Aoi and Uruha each mimed their parts in a fully furnished bedroom, and Kai’s drums were set up in front of a fireplace in a large sitting room. Everyone agreed to let Aoi go first and he left the house the moment he approved of his footage, standing outside vaping while he glared at the clouds. The other members finished filming their parts and they called Aoi back into the house to film the group shots. They gathered in front of Kai’s drum kit and played the song through a few times. They reviewed the footage, played through one more time after Ruki gave them some notes, reviewed the footage again, and declared themselves done.

Aoi breathed a sigh of relief. That hadn’t been too bad, but he was still nervous and anxious to leave. Kai walked up and clapped him on the shoulder.

“You look like you could use a drink,” the drummer said with a grin.

“I definitely could,” Aoi replied with a laugh.

“We passed an all-night izakaya on our way here,” Uruha chimed in. “We could take our time and really celebrate finishing the video.”

“Well, we’ve finished filming _our_ parts,” Ruki said. “There’s still a lot that has to be done to finish the whole thing.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Uruha responded. “You still have work to do. But the rest of us are done and I think we should party!”

“Let’s go,” Aoi said, quickly relaxing. Everyone agreed and Kai told their manager about the plan. Ruki decided he needed “a few” selfies in the spooky building, so they dismissed the staff and crew. By the time Ruki was done, everyone else was long gone. The band piled into their van and Reita, who had been elected designated driver, turned the key in the ignition. Nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing. He tried a third time but the van wouldn’t start.

“I’ll see what’s wrong,” the bassist said, climbing out of the vehicle. He opened the hood and looked inside. After a few minutes, he opened the driver’s door and popped his head in. “I can’t see anything wrong. It’s probably the battery.”

“I’ll call manager-san,” Ruki said. “He can turn back and give us a jump.” Ruki found their manager’s name in his contacts and hit the call button. He waited a few moments, but he didn’t hear the other side ringing. He checked his phone and sighed. “I don’t have a signal. Anyone else?” Everyone checked their phones and they all came to the same conclusion – there was no cell service. They also quickly discovered that their phones wouldn’t send messages via Line.

The men exited the van and gathered around the hood, looking at the engine. None of them had as much mechanical expertise as Reita, but they still felt the need to examine the machine, as if just looking at it would solve the problem. While they were standing there, they felt a few drops of rain hit their faces. Within moments, rain began falling hard and they instinctively ran into the house for shelter.

“What do we do now?” Uruha asked.

“We’ll have to wait out the storm,” Kai replied. “Once it stops raining, or at least slows down, we can walk down the road. It shouldn’t take us too long to get somewhere with a working phone. Until then, let’s just hang out here.”

“In the house?” Aoi asked nervously.

“There won’t be any heat in the van,” Reita pointed out. “At least in here, we can start a fire if we need to.” Aoi reluctantly agreed that staying inside was the best idea. They gathered in the sitting room and waited for the rain to stop. The house wasn’t as bad at night as they’d expected it to be. Their management company had arranged for utilities to be connected while they filmed, so there was electricity, heat, and water. And the furniture, though old, was comfortable.

Almost an hour had passed. The rain hadn’t slowed down a bit. The others were talking when Aoi heard a noise from above them.

“Shhhh, listen.” The band members fell quiet at Aoi’s insistence and listened. They could hear the noise coming from the floor above. It wasn’t loud, and didn’t have any sort of rhythmic pattern, so they couldn’t tell what it was. They listened intently, their eyes raised to the ceiling, and noticed that the noise seemed to be moving. “It’s getting closer,” Aoi whispered.

“Don’t be silly,” Ruki said. “You’re imagining that. I bet it’s just water dripping or something.”

“Or maybe it’s aliens,” Uruha said playfully. Kai gave him a disapproving glare, nodding his head toward Aoi who was clearly scared. “Sorry, Aoi-kun. I was just kidding. I’m sure Ruki’s right.”

“That doesn’t sound like water dripping.” Aoi’s voice was strained as he spoke. “There’s something up there.”

“I really don’t think so,” Kai said with the most soothing tone he could manage.

“Only one way to find out.” Ruki popped up onto his feet. “Come on, Rei-chan. Let’s go investigate.” Reita reluctantly climbed to his feet and followed Ruki up the stairs. The other three could hear their footsteps as they moved from room to room, and the sound of them walking completely drowned out the noise they were investigating. After a short while, the two men returned to the sitting room. “Nothing up there!”

“Are you sure?” Aoi asked.

“Completely,” Reita replied. “We looked in every corner. Nothing strange at all.”

“So, what could have made that noise?” Aoi frowned slightly, though he was relieved.

“It’s raining and windy,” Kai said. “Old houses like this make noises.” Kai sighed as he took a moment to listen to the rain still pouring around them. “I don’t think this storm is going to let up any time soon.”

“So what will we do?” Uruha asked.

“I don’t know about you,” Ruki interjected, “but I’m exhausted. I think we should just get some sleep. Even if it’s still raining in the morning, it’ll be safer to walk in daylight.”

“You’re suggesting we sleep here?” Aoi asked incredulously.

“Sure. There’s two beds. One for Reita and me. One for Leader and Ussan.”

“Meanwhile, I have to sleep on the couch alone in this creepy ass house! Just because I’m the only one not getting laid.” Aoi pouted, so Kai draped his arm over the guitarist’s shoulders.

“It’s okay. You can sleep with Uruha and me.”

“And have to listen to you two screw all night? No thanks.”

“Come on! We can keep our hands off each other for one night.”

“We can?” Uruha asked with a grin. Kai rolled his eyes.

“That’s not promising,” Aoi mumbled. He plopped down onto the couch. “Fine. I’ll sleep here. If I’m murdered in the night, I’m haunting all four of you.” Reita and Ruki marched up the stairs, Kai close behind. Before following, Uruha bent over the couch.

“I really was just joking,” he said to his fellow guitarist. “If you change your mind, our door will be open.” Uruha went up the stairs and returned a few minutes later with a blanket and pillow. After making sure Aoi was as comfortable as he was going to be, he went back upstairs and joined Kai in bed. He turned on the lamp on the bedside table, which was dusty but worked, and settled back. “I feel sorry for Aoi-kun. He’s really scared.”

“Well, you know that he’s always been more sensitive to spirits and things than the rest of us,” Kai replied. “Or, at least he thinks they’re spirits.” Just as Kai finished speaking, there was a buzz, a pop, and the lamp went out. As did the light they’d left on in the hall. They heard a shout from Reita down the hall, and another from Aoi downstairs. The power was out completely. “I’ll go check the fuses,” Kai said with a sigh.

“Take Rei with you,” Uruha replied, taking his phone out and busying himself with a game. Kai left the room and, a few moments later, Uruha heard Kai and Reita head down the stairs. Uruha quickly became engrossed in his game, so he couldn’t say how much time passed. But his attention was eventually drawn away by a creaking noise from the door. He looked up and saw a figure standing in the doorway. From the faint light provided by his phone, he could tell it was Aoi.

“Hey you. Change your mind after all?” Aoi nodded. “Well, come on in.” Uruha patted a space next to him on the bed, inviting his friend to join him. Aoi moved over to the bed and made himself comfortable next to Uruha. He sat and stared at the taller man, making him laugh uncomfortably. “What’s going on with you? Are you still scared?” Aoi grabbed Uruha by the back of his head and pulled him into a hard kiss. Uruha yelped in surprise and immediately pulled away. “What are you doing?”

“Want you,” Aoi replied in a voice barely above a whisper. He grabbed Uruha’s shoulders and pushed him down, climbing on top of him.

“Aoi, stop this,” Uruha said firmly. “You know I’ll always care for you, but I’m with Kai now. I thought you understood-“ he was interrupted by Aoi leaning down and forcefully kissing him again. Uruha tried to wriggle away, but Aoi was holding him firmly, hard enough to bruise his thin arms. Uruha was suddenly afraid. Aoi had never behaved like this before. Even when they’d first started dating and lust almost overwhelmed them, Aoi had always listened to Uruha’s wishes. And toward the end of their relationship, when they were fighting constantly, Aoi had never been rough with him. He had never been afraid of the other guitarist, but he was now. He gathered all of his strength and shoved hard, pushing Aoi off of him and onto the floor.

“What the hell?” Kai’s voice came from the still open door. Uruha looked up and was about to explain what happened. But he stopped when he saw Kai, standing with a stunned look on his face. Next to Kai, with equally stunned expressions, were Reita and Aoi. But Aoi was also still on the floor next to the bed.

“What the hell?!” yelled the Aoi standing in the doorway. The Aoi on the floor grinned widely and popped up onto his feet. He slowly looked from one man to the next before rushing at the door. The men standing in the doorway were so surprised that they stood back and allowed him through, none of them thinking to stop him. “What the hell?!” Aoi yelled again.

“I don’t know,” Kai said, trying to remain calm. “That was… you.”

“No it wasn’t!”

“Aoi’s right,” Uruha chimed in. “It looked like him, but definitely didn’t act like him.” Uruha wrapped his arms around himself, rubbing the spots on his arms where they had been abused. Kai quickly sat next to his shaken boyfriend, hugging him tightly.

“Are you okay?” Uruha didn’t get a chance to reply. From down the hall, they heard a scream and a loud thump.

“Ruki,” Reita exclaimed before bolting down the hall. The others ran after him. When they arrived in the other bedroom, they found Ruki lying unconscious on the floor, his face bloody. Reita immediately knelt down next to the singer, cradling his head in his lap. “Ru, baby, open your eyes.” Ruki groaned and slowly opened his eyes. “Hey,” Reita said, smiling down at him. “What happened?”

“He just attacked me.” The little singer reached down to his ankle. “I think it’s sprained,” he said, voice thick with pain. Ruki’s eyes drifted to the other men. As soon as he spotted Aoi, he jumped up and hid behind Reita. “Keep that psycho away from me!”

“Ruki,” Kai said, holding his hands out soothingly. “It’s okay.”

“It’s definitely not okay! He attacked me! Tell them, Aoi. Tell them how you ran in here and just started hitting me and practically threw me through the wall!”

“I didn’t! Ruki, I would never hurt you!”

“It wasn’t Aoi,” Kai interjected.

“It’s true,” Reita said, taking Ruki into his arms. “Aoi was with us. There’s something here that looks like him.”

“What do you mean?” Before anyone could explain, they heard a laugh ring through the house. It sounded like Aoi, but it also sounded like Aoi’s voice had been laid over another voice. A female voice.

“We should get out of here,” Reita said. He picked Ruki up as he stood, carrying him down the stairs while the rest of the band followed. They reached the first floor landing quickly and immediately turned to the door, but stopped in their tracks. Standing in front of the door, blocking their way out, was the other Aoi.

“There has to be a back way,” Uruha said and they turned in the opposite direction. However, the other Aoi was once again standing in their path. They backed into the sitting room. Reita set Ruki down on the couch and grabbed a poker from the fireplace, passing another to Kai. The two men raised the weapons menacingly, but the other Aoi only grinned wider.

“Leader, you’re the one into occult stuff,” Ruki said. “How do we get out of this?”

“It’s clearly a spirit of some sort,” Kai responded, taking a deep breath. “You can get rid of a spirit by helping it fulfill its unfinished business.”

“Do you have something you need our help with?” Uruha asked the spirit, but it only laughed its disconcerting multi-voiced laugh. “Any other ideas?” he asked Kai.

“We find the remains and give them a proper burial.”

“Fuck that!” Reita exclaimed. “I’m not going around looking for a dead body.”

“Well, the only other thing we can do is have a monk expel the spirit. Last time I checked, none of us were monks!”

“Why do you look like me?” Aoi asked quietly, fully focused on the spirit.

“So scared,” the spirit sneered. “Makes you easy.”

“Easy?”

“Sure,” Kai replied. “When you’re scared, your emotions are very surface level. It would make it easier for a spirit to mimic you.”

“Yes. Made you easy to see. Your lust for that one.” The spirit nodded toward Uruha.

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Kai scoffed.

“Your anger at that one.” The spirit indicated Ruki this time.

“Why are you angry at me?” Ruki asked Aoi.

“I’m not!” The spirit laughed, so Aoi sighed. “Okay, I got a little mad at you because the song this video is for started as my song and you completely took it over. You changed everything I liked about it. But it’s really more annoyance than anger. I certainly don’t want you beaten for it!” The spirit laughed again and Aoi glared at it. “That’s enough from you. And stop looking like me.” The spirit swayed on its feet a bit, but didn’t make any move. “I said stop looking like me!” Aoi screamed.

The spirit smiled and stared at him. As they watched, the form of Aoi slowly began changing. The black hair grew longer and thinner. The skin grew paler and dark circles formed under the eyes. The lips thinned, the body became shorter, and soon they were looking at the form of a young woman. She took a step toward them. Reita tightened his grip on the fire poker in his hands and swung it at her like a bat. It went right threw her, doing no damage but throwing Reita off balance. They all backed away, but she advanced quickly. In a flash, she was standing directly in front of Aoi. She grabbed him by the throat and lifted him into the air. The others yelled at her and tried to get her to let go, but their hands passed through her as if she wasn’t even there.

Aoi knew he was going to die. He couldn’t breathe and his vision was getting blurry. He could only barely make out the voices of his friends. He tried to struggle, but he was getting weak quickly. Suddenly, there was a bright light and he could breathe again. He looked up from the floor where she had dropped him and saw her using both arms to shield her eyes from the light coming through the window.

“Come on, Aoi,” Kai said as he and Uruha helped the guitarist to his feet. They ran out of the house, Reita carrying Ruki, and saw the source of the light. It was coming from the headlights of a van, one big enough for all five of them. And the person driving it, who had climbed out to greet them, was their manager.

“I’ve never been so happy to see a manager in my life,” Reita exclaimed. He quickly helped Ruki into the van, brushing past the manager without a word.

“Hey,” the manager said, casting a confused glance at Reita. “None of you are answering your phones or messages.”

“Yeah, they don’t work out here,” Kai said hurriedly. “Ruki needs medical attention. We need to get out of here right away.”

“What happened to Ruki?”

“We’ll explain on the way.” The manager shrugged and got behind the wheel. As soon as everyone was in the van, he pulled away from the house and began driving back toward town. Aoi risked a glance back. He could see the woman in the window. She looked angry. He flipped her off and turned back around with a sigh. He could hear their manager explaining that, when no one answered their phones, he had gone to the izakaya they told him they were going to. The employees there told him the band hadn’t shown up, so he went back to the house just in case they were still there.

“It’s a good thing you did,” Kai replied. “Ruki got hurt, but our van broke down and we had no way to get him help.” Kai turned from his spot in the passenger seat and glanced significantly at Ruki, who nodded his understanding of the drummer’s unspoken message.

“What happened, Ruki?”

“I fell down the stairs,” Ruki responded uncomfortably.

“Hey,” Uruha whispered to the vocalist. Reita and Aoi leaned in to be in the conversation as well. “Why aren’t you telling the truth?”

“If we tell the truth, he’ll think we’ve gone crazy. Probably from stress. Do you want to go on hiatus?” The other three agreed that hiatus was definitely not a good thing. They sat back, happy to be going home.

* * *

A few days later, the band sat around a table, waiting for their manager so they could start a meeting. Ruki’s wounds had mostly healed, and he and Aoi had talked through their issues. None of them had said anything about the spirit, but Kai had begun doing research on the history of the house, trying to figure out who the young woman could be.

“Bad news,” the manager said as he came into the room. “We’re going to have to do reshoots. Most of the footage is fine, but something happened to all of Aoi’s solo shots. There’s some kind of weird distortion.”

The band members looked at each other wearily, trying to figure out what to say. Finally, Ruki cleared his throat.

“You know, I’m not thrilled about this idea anymore. And the shooting location wasn’t what I was hoping for. I think we should just try to come up with a completely new video.”

“I agree,” Reita chimed in. The others voiced their agreement. The manager sighed. They had already spent most of the budget for this video. Completely changing it would be costly. _These diva musicians,_ he thought.

“Fine,” he relented. “You start thinking about that. I think we should keep the footage we already shot, though. You might want to put it on a DVD or something. The distortion is actually pretty cool,” he laughed. “I’ll show it to you later. It almost looks like there’s a woman standing next to him.”


End file.
